Thick Thighs Save Lives
NeoGAF's Physical Games Advocate Extraordinaire
While Sid Meier's Civilization 7 launches on February 11, those who bought the Deluxe Edition can already play the game a few days beforehand. This kind of advance access for higher tier versions brings in more earnings, as well as acts as marketing for the game, via reviews and word of mouth. However, it seems to be doing the opposite for Civ 7.
As it currently stands, the game sits on Mostly Negative reviews on Steam, with over 1,200 reviews. The biggest complaints appear to be about the game's UI feeling unfinished. As you'd imagine, a strategy game like Civ 7 requires an in-depth and intuitive interface and menu options, but many claim it feels like a pre-alpha build.
"A couple minutes in and it's just... so blatantly unfinished, especially by Civ standards<" says one user review. "The UI is total slop, everything looks super janky, the resource icons are like stock images from 1998. There is no discernible aspect of care put into the game, and that's something I never expected from Firaxis. Comparing this unfinished mess to the Civ VI release is night and day."
![mixcollage-06-feb-2025-03-26-pm-6218.jpg](https://static1.thegamerimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/mixcollage-06-feb-2025-03-26-pm-6218.jpg)
Apart from the UI, a lot of the reviews have also been slating the art and the icons. Some have even commented on the lack of maps in the game. While more will probably be added soon, players feel like there are too few at launch. However, the biggest observation many players made was that the game overall feels like it was made for console and then carelessly ported to PC.
This strangely seems in contrast with critical reviews, as Civilization 7 scored 81 on MetaCritic at the time of writing.
![www.thegamer.com](https://static1.thegamerimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/civilization-7-modern-era-pyramids-urban-areas.jpg)
Civilization 7 Opens To Mostly Negative Reviews As Players Call It An "Unfinished Mess"
Civilization 7 players have some big problems with the overall UI.
![www.thegamer.com](https://www.thegamer.com/public/build/images/favicon-48x48.1631f6a1.png)